A lesson or two from ‘edtech’ firm after business awards win
This is a massively growing sector which is disrupting the education market
THE head of an ‘edtech’ firm in Birmingham says he is hoping to disrupt the traditional model for learning as the next generation of students demand more from their education providers.
Matt Jones founded Oxbridge just five years ago in a sector which he says is “ripe for disruption” as people assess their futures post-Covid and how the latest tech can help them gain new knowledge and switch or enhance their careers.
Mr Jones credits the Birmingham Post Business Awards for spurring him on to continue working hard on his company after he was named Entrepreneur of the Year in 2018.
Oxbridge, which operates as a private college without government backing, offers qualifications such as GCSEs, A-levels and vocational courses in a broad range of subjects including childcare, teaching and mortgage advice.
It charges students a fee to “attend” a course but all the learning is done virtually using artificial intelligence and carried out at the individual user’s pace, with access to real-life teachers if required.
Mr Jones, who studied electronic and software engineering at university, launched the business after leaving his previous employer, distance learning venture Open Study College.
Matt Jones
He told the Post: “I felt the market was still ripe for disruption, based around bringing really good technology into the field.
“Back when we started, ‘edtech’ wasn’t really a thing. We could see technology developing and we realised there was a big gap in the market to bring that good-quality technology into learning.
“It was something which noone had really seemed to have nailed at that time.”
Mr Jones, 40, says techbased distance learning now offers a viable alternative to the traditional classroom because people’s lives are so busy.
He said: “This is a massively growing sector which is disrupting the education market and traditional colleges quite heavily.
“We are essentially an online college with a very eclectic mix of students. We take on everyone from school-aged pupils all the way to our eldest student who is 94.
“We welcome up to 15,000 students every year which presents a real technical challenge as each person is at a different place on their course at any given time.
“We use technology to adapt to every single student’s speed and style of learning, something that just would not have been possible even just a few years ago.
“Imagine a scenario where you go into a classroom, you are the only one sitting there with a teacher and you have an unlimited amount of resources in front of you. That’s essentially what we are doing.”
In 2018, Mr Jones was crowned Entrepreneur of the Year at our Birmingham Post Business Awards when the company was just two years old and it has since grown to 100 staff, operating both remotely and from its office in Aston Cross.
“I am eternally grateful for that win,” he said.
“What the award taught me was there were a lot of people in the same position as me.
“What I hope the award did was motivate others to seek some external recognition and let them know that starting your own business doesn’t have to be a difficult thing.
“If you have an idea, then just go for it. Take the risk and perhaps that will pay off for you.
“I love what I do so winning Entrepreneur of the Year really spurred me to carry on doing that and do even more of it.
“I would urge all the Brummies to get involved in the awards.”